Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio smiles during his first game back from reconstructive knee surgery Saturday against the Mavericks. / Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports

by Pat Borzi, USA TODAY Sports

by Pat Borzi, USA TODAY Sports

MINNEAPOLIS â?? Only at the end, leaving the court after his first game in more than nine months, did Ricky Rubio acknowledge the night-long warmth from Target Center crowd. Heading down the runway for the locker room to one last set of cheers Saturday night, the charismatic Rubio raised his hands over his head and returned the applause while turning slowly in a circle.

"When he has the ball in his hands," Minnesota Coach Rick Adelman said, "I'm a much better coach."

And the Timberwolves are a much better team.

Minnesota pulled away in overtime to beat Dallas, 114-106, with Rubio contributing nine assists, eight points and three steals in 18 minutes off the bench. And he did it with his usual panache. The signature play of Rubio's night â?? a between-the-legs bounce pass to center Greg Stiemsma for a layup, finishing off a second-quarter pick-and-roll -- was up on YouTube within an hour.

Rubio's flashy return from reconstructive left knee surgery helped Minnesota win its fourth straight game and overcome the absence of forward Kevin Love with flu-like symptoms and a sprained right thumb.

"He was making everything happen," Adelman said. "He played well. I think he's moving fine. He got tired, but that's to be expected."

On the advice of the team's medical staff, Rubio's playing time in his first game since tearing two knee ligaments last March 9 against the Lakers would be limited: 16 to 18 minutes, tops. That was the plan, anyway. Rubio had played 15 minutes in two spurts when Adelman called on him once more with 3:16 to play. And Rubio nearly won the game himself.

With the score tied at 102, Rubio's potential game-winning 3-pointer from right wing bounced off the rim with fewer than five seconds to play. Two tip-ins by other Wolves also failed to fall. So Rubio watched overtime from the bench, a light-blue towel draped across his shoulders.

"I couldn't play any minutes in the overtime. That kills me inside," Rubio said.

"But we did a great job and got the win. That's the main thing."

Rubio's return Saturday had been rumored for several days. The Wolves confirmed it on the team's web site around noon Saturday to spur ticket sales. Wolves officials said they sold 1,750 tickets after the announcement, more than double the usual walkup numbers. The announced crowd of 18,173 still fell more than 1,000 short of capacity.

But they loved their Ricky.

Though Rubio remained in sweats when the Wolves starters were announced before tipoff, a stock shot of Rubio on the scoreboard in the pregame video montage brought a huge roar.

Adelman decided to spread Rubio's playing time across the quarter breaks to build in some rest. He first called for Rubio coming out of timeout with 4:13 left in the first quarter and the Wolves trailing, 20-14.

Jumping on an exercise bike behind the bench, Rubio pedaled hard for about 10 seconds before jogging past Adelman to the scorer's table. Up went a rhythmic chant of "ROO-be-OH," but play continued until the ball went out of bounds with 1:47 left and Dallas up by 10 points. On came Rubio to a standing ovation, which Rubio did not acknowledge.

Rubio seemed tentative at first, especially defensively. Darren Collison left him behind with a slick crossover dribble the first time down the floor. But Rubio's vision and creativity kicked in quickly.

Early in the second quarter he whipped that through-the-legs pass past Mavs forward Elton Brand to Stiemsma.

"I think he could have passed that easily, but that's Ricky," Adelman said.

Rubio found forward Derrick Williams inside with an alley-oop pass, but the ball was too far from the rim, and Williams clanged it off the iron.

"It was my fault," Rubio said. "It will be okay when we play more together."

By the time Rubio came out with 6:16 left in the half, after four points and four assists, the Wolves were back in the game, trailing 39-37. Minnesota would pull ahead by nine at the half and were up by 13 when Rubio returned with 4:37 left in the third quarter. He fed Andrei Kirilenko with an alley-oop and added two more assists as the Wolves took an 80-70 lead to the fourth quarter.

"This guy has eyes in his back," Kirilenko said. "It's good to have this kind of point guard, because you know if you move good, you cut, you're always going to be rewarded."

For Adelman, saving Rubio for the end meant taking him out with 9:22 to play. Derek Fisher scored nine of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas crept back.

In overtime, with Rubio watching, Minnesota scored the first 10 points to pull away. Center Nikola Pekovic's 21 points led six Wolves in double figures as Minnesota beat Dallas for the second time in two games this season.

"This is a good team," Adelman said of the Mavs. "When they get Dirk (Nowitzki) back (from knee surgery), they're going to be very good team. We've got to look down the road If we're going to get to where we're going to get to, this is a team we're going to have to compete with and going to have to beat."

Minnesota is still missing five key players, including Love and Brandon Roy (right knee surgery). But the 12-9 Wolves are three games over .500 for the first time since Jan. 2007, and their most exciting player is back. In the locker room after the game, Rubio voiced his appreciation for all the cheers and the love.

"It's great. I can't say with words how it feels," he said. "I'm so proud to be playing with this team in front of this crowd."